Intermodal shipping containers have been used for cargo transportation since the 1930s in Europe, with standardized containers used in the United States in the 1950s. “Intermodal” indicates that the container can be used across various modes of transport, (from ship to rail to truck) without unloading and reloading its contents. There are about seventeen million intermodal containers in the world, and a large proportion of the world's long-distance freight generated by international trade is transported in shipping containers. Much freight is now shipped overseas in intermodal containers of standard sizes; usually eight and one-half nine and one-half (8½-9½) feet high, eight (8) feet wide and twenty (20) or forty (40) feet long, although there exists many more variations of these intermodal shipping containers.
A typical container has doors fitted at one end and is made of corrugated weathering steel (commonly referred to as COR-TEN®, a federally registered trademark of U.S. Steel Corporation) with a plywood floor.
Shipping containers are a reusable transport and storage unit for moving products and raw materials between locations or countries. A large proportion of the world's long-distance freight generated by international trade is transported in shipping containers. It is estimated that several million of these containers have been discarded due to the shipping cost of sending them back to their port of origin.
These shipping containers are very strong, having been manufactured to stack up to seven units high during shipping and to carry heavy loads. However, after use they become uneconomical to use as shipping containers and they are taken out of service.
Shipping container architecture, or “cargotechture,” is a form of architecture using intermodal shipping containers as a structural element. The advantages of using shipping containers for transportable buildings include:                Strength and durability: shipping containers are designed to carry heavy loads and to be stacked in high columns. They are also designed to resist harsh environments.        Modularity: shipping containers have the same width and most have standard height and length measurements which simplifies design, planning and transport. They are designed to interlock for ease of mobility during transportation and for structural construction.        Labor: overall welding and cutting of steel is less expensive than conventional construction.        Transport: shipping containers are easily transported by ship, truck or rail, because they already conform to standard shipping sizes.        Availability: used shipping containers are available across the globe.        Expense: used containers are often available at an amount that is low compared to a finished structure built by other labor-intensive means such as bricks and mortar—which also require larger more expensive foundations.        Foundations: shipping containers are designed to be supported by their four corners making a simple foundation possible.        Eco-Friendly: recycling of shipping containers saves on use of traditional building materials.        
Several structures based on shipping containers have already been constructed, and their uses, sizes, locations and appearances vary widely. Stewart Brand, the author of the book How Buildings Learn, converted a shipping container into office space, and wrote up the conversion process in the book. In 2006, Southern California Architect Peter DeMaria, designed a two story shipping container home under the guidelines of the Uniform Building Code (UBC). In 2007, Logical Homes created the Aegean for the Computer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nev. Other architects, such as Adam Kalkin have built original homes, using discarded shipping containers for their parts or using them in their original form, or doing a mix of both.
In 2000, the firm Urban Space Management completed the project called Container City I in the Trinity Buoy Wharf area of London. In 2006, the Dutch company Tempohousing finished in Amsterdam the biggest container village in the world: 1,000 student homes from modified shipping containers from China.
In 2002 standard ISO shipping containers began to be modified and used as stand-alone on-site wastewater treatment plants. The use of containers creates a cost-effective, modular, and customizable solution to on-site waste water treatment and eliminates the need for construction of a separate building to house the treatment system.
Brian McCarthy, an MBA student, developed prototypes of shipping container housing for maquiladora workers in Mexico.
in 2010 German Architect and Production Designer, Stefan Beese, utilized six 40′ long shipping containers to create a large viewing deck and a VIP lounge area for use as a grand stand scaffold structure at the Voodoo Music Experience, New Orleans. The containers also provide storage space for other festival components throughout the year. The two top containers are cantilevered nine feet on each side creating two balconies that are prime viewing locations. There are also two bars located on the balconies. Each container was perforated with cutouts spelling the word “VOODOO,” which not only brands the structure but creates different vantage points and service area openings.
In the United Kingdom, walls of containers filled with sand have been use as giant sandbags to protect against the risk of flying debris from exploding ceramic insulators in electricity substations.
In the October 2013, two barges owned by Google with superstructures made out of shipping containers received media attention speculating about their purpose.
The biggest shopping mall/market in Europe is made up of alleys formed by stacked containers, on 170 acres of land between the airport and the central part of Odessa, Ukraine. Informally named “Tolchok” and officially known as the Seventh-Kilometer Market it has 16,000 vendors and employs 1,200 security guards and maintenance workers. In Central Asia, the Dordoy Bazaar in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan is composed almost entirely of double-stacked containers. In 2011, the Cashel Mall in Christchurch, New Zealand reopened in a series of shipping containers months after it had been destroyed in the earthquake that devastated the city's central business district. Starbucks Coffee has also built a store using shipping containers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,854,094, issued to Clark on Aug. 8, 1989, discloses a method comprising mounting at least one standard steel shipping container on a weight-bearing foundation at the ends; installing a roof, a raised floor and a dropped ceiling; and at least one window opening and one door opening in the side and end walls, with a window and a door installed therein. The building is constructed at the building site.